Draghi: Too soon to declare euro zone victory

Answering CNBC's Geoff Cutmore, Mario Draghi highlights that the "weak" and "fragile" European recovery is vulnerable to many risks as unemployment remains "unacceptably high".

Mario Draghi, the President of the European Central Bank (ECB), said it was "premature to declare any victory" regarding the end of the euro zone's financial and economic crisis, arguing that the region's recovery was still weak and fragile.

While some commentators, and European politicians, have pointed toward an improvement and stabilization in the 18-country currency union, Draghi said that he would be very cautious about stating the battle against further contraction was over.

"Unemployment stands at 12 and more percent. The only positive news about unemployment is that we see this high -- unacceptably high -- unemployment rate, stabilising," he said at a press conference after the ECB announced it had left its key interest rate and deposit facility unchanged.

"The recovery is there but it's weak, it's modest and, as I've said many times, it's fragile. Meaning that there are several risks from financial to economic to geopolitical to political risks that could undermine easily this recovery."

He added: "It's still premature to declare any victory and I think that's why...we are using firmer language with our forward guidance."